submotivation

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noun

A secondary or underlying motivation.

OriginEnglish motivation ← Middle English motif ← Late Latin mōtīvum →
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Meanings

nounsubmotivation (plural submotivations)

plural submotivations

  1. A secondary or underlying motivation.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*upó
  2. Proto-Italic*supo
  3. Latinsub
  4. Latinsub-
  5. Englishsub-
  6. Anglo-Normanmotif
  7. Middle Frenchmotif
  8. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
  10. Proto-Italic*moweō
  11. Latinmoveō
  12. Latinmōtus
  13. Late Latinmōtīvum
  14. Middle Englishmotif
  15. Englishmotive
  16. Englishmotivation
  17. Englishsubmotivation

From sub- + motivation.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

submotivation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/submotivation

MLA

“submotivation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/submotivation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “submotivation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/submotivation.

Source: submotivation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.